Automated consumer to business electronic marketplace system

ABSTRACT

An automated consumer to business electronic marketplace system is presented, wherein various aspects of user status, user behavior or operation of a vehicle associated with user are monitored and reported to an electronic marketplace. Suppliers of insurance products and other suppliers of automobile or personal products or services may offer users prices for products or services based on the data reported. The system may further allow the user to choose monitoring and reporting options based on discounts offered for certain reporting options.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/825,967, filed Apr. 16, 2004, issuing Mar. 4,2008 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,339,483 which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/463,380 filed Apr. 16, 2003, and is alsoa continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No.10/690,459, filed Oct. 20, 2003, now abandoned, which is a continuationof U.S. application Ser. No. 09/638,177, filed Aug. 11, 2000, nowabandoned, each of which are incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is related generally to a system and method formonitoring various types of information relating to the operation ofvehicles, building systems, or monitoring of other personnel orenvironments, and reporting such information anonymously to anelectronic marketplace. Based on said anonymous information, appropriatevehicle-related product and service offerings from selected suppliersare identified, analyzed, and reported back to said vehicles' owners,who can then make purchase decisions through the electronic marketplace.The invention also includes a system and method for presenting thevehicles' drivers with vehicle insurance alternatives, at the start ofeach vehicle operation, allowing selection of the most appropriatealternative for each trip. The invention further provides a system andmethod for communicating information consistent with the driver'sinsurance choice to the insurance company providing vehicle insurancecoverage in effect at the time of the selection. The invention is alsodirected to providing a user with alternatives to other products orservices, depending upon the environment or application, such asalternative suppliers of home or business insurance products, buildingsystems, energy suppliers or many other similar applications.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

After market vehicle equipment, vehicle insurance, and othervehicle-related services are usually sought out by vehicle ownersinterested in such products. The owner must research the specific costsrelated to such products and choose the products based on their drivingneeds. Insurance costs are generally a result of the characteristics ofa vehicle, the vehicle's drivers and their driving histories. Prices forinsurance products are usually sold on a yearly basis and are determinedby a profile of the drivers, their driving records, and characteristicsof the vehicle at the time that the policy is purchased. Prices are afunction of the drivers' genders and ages, where they live, work, andpark the vehicle and the number of miles the vehicle is driven on adaily basis. All of these factors contribute to the calculation of aninsurance rate for a yearly term. In most cases, the rates are notvariable for changes in these conditions during the year term of thepolicy.

It is also a common practice for insurance companies to offer discountson vehicle insurance premiums for a vehicle which has optionalfactory-installed or after market products that are believed to promotesafer operation of the vehicle and/or offer greater protection for thedriver and other vehicle occupants, or even the vehicle itself. Examplesof such products are ABS brakes, which are believed to reduce the numberand severity of accidents, and vehicle security systems, which reducethe potential for vehicle theft. In the cases of such products, thepresence of the product, once properly-installed on the vehicle, isgenerally enough evidence to support that it will function to providethe added benefits which warrant the discount offered in vehicleinsurance premiums.

Recently, some products have been introduced for vehicles, and othersare being prepared for introduction, which promote safer vehicleoperation, but which can be utilized at the driver's discretion. Thesetypes of products offer significant potential for improving safety, butsince there is no prior knowledge or assurance of how many such productswill be utilized, it is difficult to justify offering vehicle insurancepremium reductions for their purchase. Examples of such products alreadyintroduced into the market are navigation systems, heavy-vehicle forwardcollision warning systems, and heavy-vehicle lane-change collisionwarning systems. Other products announced for market introduction areheavy-vehicle lane-departure warning systems, and being prepared forheavy-vehicle product introduction are drowsy- and/or inattentive-drivermonitoring systems. For various reasons, such products are oftenintroduced first for heavy vehicles for commercial use, but are expectedto be also offered later for light vehicles for commercial and personaluse.

As such safety-related products only function at the driver'sdiscretion, the utilization is difficult to assess. Attempts to accountfor this problem have been set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,797,134 and6,064,970, entitled “Motor Vehicle Monitoring System for Determining aCost of Insurance”. The inventions taught by these two patents providefor capturing data relating to vehicle operations and using such data todetermine the appropriate vehicle insurance premium.

A problem with such an operation is found in the requirement to have therelevant data captured and reported to the insurance company's centralcomputers. There are concerns about potential loss of privacy due tohaving such data captured and communicated to another party. A furtherproblem can exist if the owner decides not to surrender that type ofinformation from time to time, or if other people are allowed to drivehis vehicle who might object to having otherwise-private informationabout their location and driving habits captured and transmitted to theinsurance company.

In other developments relevant to the current invention, a number ofinsurance companies have developed Internet web sites through whichconsumers can provide relevant information and receive quotes forinsurance policies, including automotive insurance. According to thestory “Not the Agents of Change” on page 225 of the Jun. 13, 2000 issueof the magazine “Business 2.0”, Progressive Casualty Insurance Companylaunched the first auto insurance company Website in mid 1997, and atpresent is receiving 630,000 unique visitors nationwide. In addition tothe traditional vehicle insurers utilizing traditional agents that arenow beginning to also market their products through their own web sites,at least one company has been formed without traditional agents tomarket its own insurance products exclusively through its Internet website eCoverage.com (eCoverage P&C Insurance Services, Inc.).

There are now also a number of electronic marketplaces accessible as webpages through the Internet, some of which allow consumers tocomparison-shop for various products and services offered to them bybusinesses, sometimes called “consumer-to-business” or C2B sites, sinceit is the consumer who takes the initiative to utilize such sites toevaluate alternative business products. The attraction of a C2Bmarketplace to many consumers, compared with Internet web sitesbelonging to a single business, is the availability of alternatives froma central, presumably neutral, source. Various protections are claimedfor protecting the privacy of information provided by the consumer inorder to receive an analysis of suitable alternative product or servicechoices.

Some existing C2B sites offer insurance products, including automotiveinsurance. Based on information supplied on-line by the consumer on hisand other intended drivers' profiles, driving records, and vehicles tobe covered, comparisons are generally made between alternativecompanies' vehicle insurance policies and an analysis is providedon-line to the consumer. In some cases the consumer can choose topurchase a desired insurance policy through the C2B site, and in othercases either is directed to contact an appropriate agent or has thenecessary information forwarded to an agent, who in turn contacts theconsumer to arrange the sale. Examples of such C2B sites offeringautomotive insurance and their owners are InsureMarket.com (IntuitInc.'s Quicken Insurance site), InsWeb.com (InsWeb Corporation),Einsure.com (E-INSURE Services, Inc.), and IAC.com (Insurance AnswerCenter, Inc.).

At present, even considering the existing methods and systems art, aproblem remains in providing automotive insurance with premiums based inpart on vehicle-operation related data captured by systems on thevehicle. A vehicle's owner currently has no convenient way ofselectively capturing data relating to operation of their vehicle, toidentify potential savings in vehicle insurance premiums. This is asmaller problem for premiums based solely on vehicle usage, since mostdrivers can estimate how much a vehicle is driven, where it is generallydriven, and at what times. Such information can be provided via a website or to a traditional agent, and estimated premiums calculated.However, the potential exists for premiums to also be based on the waythe car is driven, both in absolute terms (frequency of hard-braking ABSevents, high accelerations, sudden swerves, etc.) and relative to othervehicles (tailgating, high-speed approaches to other vehicles), relativeto the roadway (difficulty staying within lane), and/or the driver'sability to stay alert and attentive to the driving task. These types ofinformation are easily identified and can be captured from existing ABSsystems, collision warning systems, lane-keeping and road-departurewarning systems, drowsy- and/or inattentive-driver monitoring systems,and the like, but such data are not generally available directly to thevehicle owner. Further, the owner's or other driver's ability toestimate such data accurately is very unlikely. For these reasons, thepresent art does not provide a convenient approach for capturing suchrelevant data and providing the vehicle owner with vehicle insurancealternatives based on the current vehicle's configuration. Likewise, thepresent art does not provide a convenient approach for providing thevehicle owner with vehicle insurance alternatives based on the additionof various after market vehicle products capable of capturingvehicle-operation related information which may be reported to aninsurance company for vehicle insurance premium discounts.

Similarly, in other environments, such as the home or place of business,it would be advantageous to provide the ability to monitor the user orenvironment to allow the capture of data, which can be communicated toan electronic marketplace to calculate the cost of related products orservices to the user within such an environment.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a system and a method to address theseproblems in the art through systems and methods which allow effectivecapturing of vehicle configuration and operational data for determiningpossible vehicle insurance premium discounts, without the associatedproblems noted above. The system may comprise a device for monitoringdata concerning vehicle operation, driver status, and/or externalenvironment (such as vehicle position relative to other vehicles,obstacles, other vehicles speeds, distances, accelerations, directionsof travel or the like, boundaries of a lane or roadway or the like). Acommunication system for making such information anonymously availableto an electronic marketplace is provided, and based upon theinformation, a system by which the electronic marketplace identifiesappropriate vehicle equipment or services offered by various suppliersmay be provided. The electronic marketplace communicates such analysisback to the vehicle owner, and a system by which the vehicle owner canselect such vehicle equipment or services for purchase based on thecommunicated analysis is provided. There may also be provided a systemby which a vehicle driver can select at the beginning of each trip amongvehicle insurance alternatives involving the capture and reporting ofvarious vehicle operation related data offered by the automotiveinsurance policy previously purchased by the vehicle owner. A similarapproach may be provided for other environments, such as the home,office, other places of business or the like, where a user, other peopleor the environment may be monitored, data captured and products orservices related to the user, others or the environment correlated andcommunicated in a similar fashion.

It is an object of the present invention to provide systems and methodsfor monitoring information about a vehicle's operation and driverstatus, such as usage of various equipment installed on the vehicle,frequency of hard-braking, high accelerations, ABS engagement, suddenswerves, tailgating, high-speed approaches to other vehicles, difficultystaying within lane, and the driver's state of alertness and/orattentiveness to the driving task.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide systems andmethods for transmitting such data to an electronic marketplace, such asan Internet web site, without identifying or allowing the identificationof the particular vehicle, its driver, or its owner.

It is another object of the present invention that such data be used forproviding pricing information regarding various equipment and servicesjudged suitable due to the vehicle's current configuration, whichinformation is communicated to the vehicle's owner while maintaining hisanonymity allowing the vehicle's owner to select equipment or servicesfor purchase if desired.

A further object of the invention is to allow such data to be used inrelation to insurance on the driver him/herself that relates to safety,or other driver characteristics, such as life insurance, disabilityinsurance or the like.

It is another object of the present invention to allow a driver toselect the features of the vehicle, driver, vehicle operation, and/orexternal environment which are monitored during a particular trip andmade available for various analysis and reports to the vehicle owner andoptionally to an insurance company for vehicle insurance purposes. Allgenerated data can also be captured for anonymous reporting to the Website for aggregation with other vehicles' data for statisticalpurposes—for insurance purposes as well as others, such as compilingoverall driving safety statistics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the description of embodiments thereof, in conjunction with thedrawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the system according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the acquisition of data by the communicationsystem of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the system and methods according to anembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram representative of a welcome page associated with aWebsite or other electronic business marketplace.

FIG. 5 is a diagram representative of a registration page associatedwith a Website or other electronic business marketplace,

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of the driver-operated system of one embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments ofthe present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawingswhich, in conjunction with this detailed description, illustrate anddescribe a system and method for vehicle monitoring. It should berecognized that the systems, methods and other aspects of the inventioncan also be used in other situations or environments as the vehiclemonitoring system described herein, and the invention is not to belimited to any particular application or environment.

Turning now to FIG. 1, there is shown a system and method according toan embodiment of the invention, to facilitate acquisition andcommunication of data to and from a vehicle, providing the ability tomonitor and use driving conditions of the vehicle and/or drivercharacteristics, to provide the basis for policy-premium adjustmentsrelated to insuring the vehicle. These adjustments could be discountsprovided for electing specific monitoring options, or adjustments basedon analysis of the data monitored and communicated to the insurancecompany providing vehicle insurance to the vehicle. While suchadjustments could be discounts or surcharges based on the analysis ofdata captured and analyzed through the electronic marketplace for suchpurposes, in a preferred embodiment the data and/or their analysis areonly provided to the insurance company for policy premium adjustments ifa discount is available. In such cases when analysis through theelectronic marketplace shows that no discount from the current vehicleinsurer is available, no data would be transmitted to the insurer andthe normal policy premium would be charged for the relevant period. Datais selectively communicated to and from the vehicle to allow the vehicleowner the option of providing data to insurance companies, allowing theinsurance company to more accurately assess safety of operation of thevehicle or other parameters relating to insurance coverage. Such datamay be anonymously provided to a central source, where it may beanalyzed using criteria as set forth by various insurance companies,allowing an accurate assessment of premiums which may be available forvarious insurance policies. As the analysis is based upon actual drivingconditions and operator characteristics, the vehicle owner mayfacilitate controlling insurance costs, and such information may also beused for actual purposes to provide valuable resources for evaluatingcharacteristics of insurance coverage. The data acquired and utilized inthe present invention depends in part upon what types of systems may beassociated with a particular vehicle for generating desired data.Systems and devices to generate desirable data may be of a variety ofdifferent types, and may either be provided as original equipment on thevehicle, or as aftermarket products installed on the vehicle. As merelyexamples of systems and devices which may be useful to generatedesirable data, adaptive cruise control systems, such as produced byDelphi Delco Electronics Systems, can be used to capture data relatingto information sensed by a radar system, relating to vehicle operation.Similarly, vehicle collision warning systems would produce similarinformation useful for analysis of vehicle operation. Generalcharacteristics of vehicle operation available from other vehiclesystems could also could be monitored, which may include vehicle speed,use of safety belts, braking characteristics, accelerationcharacteristics, miles driven, time and length of vehicle operation,initiation of ABS, airbag or other safety systems, as well as other datawhich may be helpful to evaluate operation of the vehicle. Further,using a system for identifying the location of vehicle, such as GPS orcellular networks, allow evaluation of the types of roads on which thevehicle is driven, where the vehicle is parked and the like, to evaluatepossible risk of accident or theft. Other data which may also bedesirable include data regarding the status of the vehicle operator. Forexample, alertness of the driver may be monitored, or othercharacteristics, such as cell phone use, smoking or the like. Based uponthe foregoing, it should be understood that any systems or method ofevaluating vehicle operation, operator status or other desirableinformation related to insuring the vehicle, evaluating warranty claimsor insurance claims, or for other purposes, may be captured or used inaccordance with the systems and method of the present invention. Thus,although the description of the embodiment herein relates to data andevaluation for purposes of insurance coverage, other uses arecontemplated, and are within the scope of the invention.

In FIG. 1, an exemplary system and method will be described withreference to a single vehicle, although it should be understood that anynumber of vehicles can be incorporated into the system, regardless ofgeographic location. A vehicle 10 equipped with at least one system ordevice which will generate data to be captured relating to at least oneof the group of vehicle operation, vehicle operator status, vehicleoperator characteristics, vehicle location, times of operation/parking,other vehicles, or roadway features. A data generating system 12 is thusshown schematically as such a system or device, and may be of anyvariety of configurations and/or characteristics to generate any of thedata as described. The at least one system 12 is coupled to acommunication system 14 adapted to receive generated data, process saiddata if necessary, and transmit such data from the vehicle. Thecommunication system 14 is able to transmit and receive information inany suitable format, and through any suitable communications system. Inthe embodiment shown, wireless communication from the vehicle 10 via thecommunications system 14 is provided through any suitable wirelessnetwork. Alternatively, cellular or other systems may be utilized ifdesired, as long as such systems provide transmission and receipt ofinformation for purposes of the invention. As shown in FIG. 1,communication system 14 may transmit data via a transmitter 16 to acentral facility, such as an electronic marketplace, for instance website 20. The electronic marketplace site 20 may in turn be located on acomputerized information network, such as the Internet. The Website 20may be operated by a wireless application service provider (“WASP”), toallow wireless communication to the site 20. In the embodiments shown,communication from system 14 to site 20 is performed anonymously tomaintain privacy of the information relative to a particular vehicleowner or operation of a vehicle. Also connected to the Website 20, maybe one or more insurance companies 22 and/or service or productsuppliers 24, and/or information from such companies 22 or suppliers 24may be integrated into Website 20. The Website 20 may allow a user tointerface with the insurance companies 22 and/or service providers 24through pages on site 20, or hyperlinks to other appropriate sites. Thevehicle owner may also communicate with the Website via a home computer26 or the like.

As mentioned previously, and with reference to FIG. 2, the communicationsystem 14 may be supplied with data generated by one or more systems ordevices to monitor various aspects of the vehicle operation and/ordriver status or behavior. As merely examples, the driver's behavior 30,steering function 32, brake function 34, engine function 36, tires 38,the location of the vehicle 40, the driver status 42, externalenvironment data 43 (such as vehicle position relative to othervehicles, obstacles, other vehicles speeds, distances, accelerations,directions of travel or the like, boundaries of a lane or roadway or thelike), and other data 44. External environment data may be captured byoutward-looking sensors on adaptive cruise control, collision warning,lane departure warning, and other such systems.

Turning now to FIG. 3, the system and methods of the invention accordingto this embodiment will be described in more detail. The data generatedby the one or more systems relating to vehicle operation/driver statusor driver behavior are aggregated as vehicle/driver data 50 and coupledto the communication system 14. This data is then transmitted to theWebsite 20 at 52. The vehicle/driver data may be transferred to theWebsite at predetermined intervals, such as weekly, and in thisembodiment, such transmission is anonymous. The anonymous vehicle/drivedata may then be aggregated with other such data transmitted by othervehicles, and forwarded to the member insurance companies or otherorganizations at 54, which may be useful for actuarial purposes or otherstatistical purposes. Because the data is preferably anonymous as wellas aggregated, the insurance company cannot judge at this point aproposed insurance policy and premium pricing for an individual vehicleowner. The vehicle/driver data is also analyzed at 56, which in theembodiment shown is performed at the Website 20 with resident resourcesused in association with the Website 20. In an embodiment of theinvention, the Website 20 may be provided with information from memberinsurance companies 22, relating to each of their calculations forproposing insurance coverage to a customer. Such analysis will includeproviding policy premium adjustments based upon the actual operation ofthe vehicle, driver status or driver behavior as determined from thevehicle/driver data. As the systems and devices which generate data foran individual vehicle may vary to a great extent, any proposed insurancecoverage and analysis of the vehicle/driver data is performedspecifically on the vehicle/driver data available for a particularvehicle. Alternatively, the vehicle/driver data may be forwarded ortransmitted to a member insurance company 22, where an analysis of thedata may be performed and returned to the Website 20. Under eitherembodiment, an analysis of the vehicle/driver data will allow generationof a report which will indicate to the vehicle owner information toallow the owner to potentially purchase insurance products and/or otherproducts or services which may enhance the ability of the driver toreceive discounts on their vehicle insurance. The vehicle/driver dataanalysis report is thus transmitted to the vehicle owner at 58, whichagain may be performed at predetermined timed intervals corresponding toreceipt of the data. It should be understood that although transmissionof the data and report is discussed as being performed at intervals, itshould be understood that continuous transmission of data is possible,with reports generated accordingly. In an embodiment of the invention,the vehicle/driver data analysis report may be transmitted back to thecommunication system 14, still in anonymous form, and from thecommunication system 14 may in turn be retransmitted to the vehicleowner such as by electronic mail to the vehicle owner's computer at 60.Other possible methods of communicating the vehicle/driver data analysisreport to the vehicle at 58 are also contemplated. In this way, thevehicle owner will be able to review possible discounts available fromone or more insurance companies based upon the actual vehicle/driverdata transmitted from the communication system 14. If a vehicle ownerhas an existing relationship with an insurance company, the vehicleowner may desire that the vehicle/driver data analysis be forwarded tothe insurance company to receive a specified discount. For example, thevehicle owner may contact the Website 20 and issue instructions that thevehicle/driver data as well as analysis report be forwarded to theirinsurance company.

It is also an advantage of the system and methods according to theinvention that a vehicle owner can use the invention to determine whattypes of discounts or premiums may be available based upon actualvehicle/driver data. The system can be used without transmitting data tothe insurance company, and thus the vehicle owner can selectivelyforward data when a discount is available, but may withhold suchinformation if no discount would be generated. It should also beapparent, that if no discount would be available, this may indicateproblems in the analysis relating to vehicle operation, driver status ordriver behavior, which may motivate the vehicle owner to correct anysuch problems and thereby receive appropriate discounts. It is alsocontemplated in the invention, that the communication system 14 may beselectively operated by the vehicle driver so as to capture and transmitdata only when desired. Regardless of the ability to use the system toreduce insurance costs in this application, a vehicle owner could usethe system to receive driving analysis reports, indicating any unsafeoperation of the vehicle or the like, to assist the driver in becomingsafer and more aware of risks in driving.

The vehicle owner may maintain control over use of the systems ormethods, and any such information is maintained anonymous by the Website20.

It should also be recognized that if the vehicle owner does not have acomputer or other access to electronic mail or the like, the Website mayallow a user to communicate via a telephone, using an interactive voicerecognition system (IVR) or the like. An IVR system will allow a user touse a touch-tone keypad as an input device for providing or receivinginformation to the Website.

Also based upon a vehicle owner using the system and methods accordingto the invention, the Website may provide an interface for makingpurchase decisions with respect to insurance products, services or otherproducts, as well as accessing other information and services providedby the Website. Tuning to FIG. 4, an example of a home web page 60 mayprovide an initial interface with a vehicle owner or other registereduser, or as the interface to a potential new user to allow registration.The page 60 may include a number of interface buttons generally depictedat 62, which increase the user's efficiency in traversing the Website.The graphical interface provided by the Website may provide features inthe menu bar 62, such as a home button 64 to return the user to thewelcome page 60 from another location in the site. A supplier button 66may be provided to refer the user more information regarding suppliersof products or services which may relate to the function of the Website20. An insurance company's button 68 may similarly provide the user withadditional information regarding member insurance companies. Inaddition, the menu bar 62 may include various general information orservices to the customer, by means of a customer service button 70, awhat's new button 72, a tutorial button 74 as well as a site map 76. Thewelcome page 60 may also include hypertext links 78 to link the user toother sites on the global information system relating to products orservices which may be of interest. As with other Internet sites,advertising banners 80 or other marketing or informational material maybe provided on the site. There may also be provided on the welcome page60 an interface to allow a registered user to enter a user name andpassword at 82 and 84, to allow access to more particular informationrelating to this user. If a user forgets his or her password, a link 86may be provided to allow the user to submit information wherein theWebsite will communicate the user's password to allow them to access thesite. For other users, a registration interface 88 may be provided,which will transfer the user to a registration page 90 as shown in FIG.5. On the registration page 90, a user will be prompted to input variousbasic information, such as name 91, address 92, age 93, sex 94, otherdrivers 95 or any additional information which may be helpful toinitially evaluate insurance products for the user. Similarly, vehicleinformation is also submitted by the user, which may include, but is notlimited to type and model of the vehicle at 96, model year 97, safetyequipment or systems or other vehicle or driver monitoring equipment 98or any other vehicle information which may be desired. Initialregistration may also request driver information, such as but notlimited to violations or citations issued to a driver at 99 and anyinsurance claims filed at 100, and the driver license number and stateat 107. The user may also be prompted to identify the types of insurancecoverage which may be desired, relating to liability insurance 101,uninsured motorist insurance 102, comprehensive insurance 103, collisioninsurance 104, as well as liability limits desired in the insurancepolicy, and deductible ranges at 105 and 106. Although variousinformation has been depicted in FIG. 5, it should be recognized thatany additional information which may be desired can be obtainedsimilarly.

In an embodiment of the invention, once the user has registered via aninterface such as FIG. 5, or via an IVR system using a telephone, theuser profile data will allow the Website 20 to evaluate the usergenerally under various member insurance company criteria. As shown inFIG. 6, once user profile information is entered at 110, a user name andpassword may be issued at 112. Based upon the user profile informationentered, a report of insurance policies and premium ranges based uponthe information may be issued to the user at 114. Upon acceptance by theuser, an evaluation system may be forwarded to the user an initialevaluation period at 116, which will allow a user to evaluate the systemand its potential advantages without any commitment. As at least a partof the evaluation system, a communication system will be installed inthe vehicle at 118 to allow transmission of the vehicle/driver data tothe Website as previously described. At 120, the vehicle/driver data iscommunicated to the Website for the initial evaluation period, and avehicle/driver data analysis report issued to the vehicle owner at 122.Again, the report issued at 122, will allow the user to evaluateparticular discounts which may be available based upon particular datagenerating systems or products installed in their vehicle, such asadaptive cruise control, collision warning systems, collision avoidancesystems, lane changing warning systems, GPS systems, a driver alertnessmonitor, or any other systems or products as previously mentioned. Basedupon the vehicle/driver data analysis report issued at 122, the vehicleowner may then subscribe to the Website and purchase additional productswhich may provide other discounts accordingly at 124. Upon subscribingto the system, operation of the system with respect to this particularvehicle owner commences as previously described. Also, due to theanonymous nature of the communication to/from the vehicle owner andsupplier(s), the supplier(s) could perform market research activitiesthrough the user interface.

As previously mentioned, the communication system of the invention mayalso be configured by the user to allow predetermined reporting optionsfor a particular use of the vehicle. The CS 14 may be configured to showthe reporting options selected from the previous trip and use these asdefaults, or may default to full privacy or any other reporting optionconfigured by the driver. The CU display unit preferably includes a userinterface mechanism such as a touch screen or keyboard by which a drivercan select specified options for a current trip. The system may offervarious levels of reporting, for instance, the driver may choose to havefull privacy and have no information reported for a current trip. In thealternative, the driver may choose to have specific aspects of theinformation reported and keep others private. For instance, the drivermay choose to have location monitored and reported, while keeping thevisual driver monitor private. For instance, the driver may choose tohave location monitored and reported, while keeping the visual drivermonitor private. Upon starting the vehicle, the driver may have aspecified time interval in which to change the reporting options, orelse the CS 14 reverts to the default options. A display unit may showthe driver choices for reporting and near each choice, a percentagediscount which is available for each reporting option may be shown. Forexample, suppose that the driver's current insurance policy rate is$100/month. On a particular trip the display unit shows potentialdiscounts of 5% for location reporting, a 2% for driver state reporting,and a 3% for vehicle operation reporting. The driver can select theoptions he wishes to use for that particular trip, through the userinterface. The CS monitors overall relevant data for the trip andtransmits those to the web site 20. Based on the driver's selection,only data related to the selections made for that trip are madeavailable for reports to the vehicle owner and/or insurance companycurrently providing vehicle insurance for vehicle 10. However, allavailable data may be provided anonymously and aggregated for use bymember insurance companies 22 or other organizations for statisticalpurposes.

As another alternative, the CS 14, if supplied with data from GPSequipment, may be used to monitor the vehicle's location on a particularpath. The present system may use the GPS link with the CS to notify thedriver of any unusual objects in a path. For example, the CS may be ableto alert a driver using an audio or visual signal able of an object suchas a fallen tree blocking the road ahead. Additionally, the CS may beable to provide the driver with more specific information, for example,may alert the driver that the fallen tree is 500 feet ahead. Further,another potential function may allow the CS to use the driver's currentspeed and road conditions to calculate the distance from the objectwhich the driver needs to begin braking in order to stop safely. Thedriver may be notified by a signal such as “BEGIN BRAKING NOW” or asimilar command. Further, the communication of this information to theelectronic marketplace will allow insurance companies to adjust policyrates accordingly if the driver consistently travels on a very safe orvery dangerous path. Additionally, suppliers may offer various safetyproducts based on conditions usually encountered by the vehicle.

Further, the CS may include systems for monitoring driver behavior, suchas auditory, visual, odor or other monitoring of the driver, vehicleenvironment or external environment. The monitoring can record thedriver's behavior when operating the vehicle. Thus for example, unsafedriving practices can be reported. However, other safety benefits can begained from such a system. For example, if a driver becomes fatigued andstarts to fall asleep while driving, the CU may issue an audible warningto awaken the driver to avert danger. As examples of other safetybenefits, the driver can be alerted by the CU when guidelines relatingto safe operation of the vehicle are in danger of being violated, thuspermitting the driver to modify operation of the vehicle to stay withinguidelines and thus operate more safely. For such guidelines associatedwith automotive insurance offering discounts for safe vehicle operationaccording to those guidelines, this also helps the driver avoid vehicleoperations that could result in loss of automotive insurance premiumdiscounts or possibly result in surcharges to automotive insurancepremiums. Other guidelines relating to safe vehicle operation may beprovided by other parties such as the vehicle owner, in which casealerts by the CU will help drivers of the vehicle to avoid drivingpractices that are considered dangerous by the vehicle owner or otherparty providing such guidelines.

In addition, the CS monitoring of various vehicle systems may serve toalert the driver of potential maintenance problems. For example, if thevehicle has worn brake pads, the communication of this information tothe electronic marketplace allows various product and service suppliersto alert the driver of prices for the purchase and/or installation ofnew brake pads. This example is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention in any way. It is contemplated that this feature of thepresent invention could apply to any maintenance related products orservices.

In the present invention, the driver may also be offered products orservices based on information provided anonymously to various suppliers.The driver may request to view this information or the display unit maybe configured to ask the driver whether he would like to view suchinformation on a periodic basis. This information may be sent back tothe vehicle's CS or transmitted electronically to a location specifiedby the driver.

The CU display unit may include a user interface mechanism such as atouch screen or keyboard by which a driver can select specified optionsfor a current trip. The system may offer various levels of reporting,for instance, the driver may choose to have full privacy and have noinformation reported for a current trip. In the alternative, the drivermay choose to have specific aspects of the vehicle reported and keepothers private.

It is further contemplated by the present invention that the CS mayoffer other services and features valuable to the driver. For example,the CS may have a timing device. Near a driver's mealtime, the CS mayindicate this fact to a driver and based on the driver's location alsoindicate places where the driver may eat, such as restaurants. Theindicator may first divide the available options by category, such asfast food, full service, etc. and then show specific restaurants in thechosen category. The CS may further provide specific food items at aparticular location chosen by the driver. By way of another example, onlengthy trips, the CS may be supplied with data from a drive monitor tonote the driver's behavior and indicate nearby lodgings if the driverappears fatigued or if nighttime is approaching and the driver has beendriving for an extended period.

There are studies underway in the industry that evaluate the effects ofcollision warning systems and/or adaptive cruise control systems ondrivers, usually conducted with the cooperation of commercial truckingfleets and commercially-available collision warning and/or adaptivecruise control products, such as the Eaton VORAD collision warning andadaptive cruise control products (EVT-200 and EVT-300 models). Theapproach used in many cases is to install the collision warning systemon a vehicle but initially not have the driver display unit (DDU)functioning. Then, during some “baseline” period, the system capturesthe driving behavior exhibited by the driver and since no alerts orwarnings of any type are being provided to the driver by the systemduring the baseline period, such captured data is used to represent thenormal driving habits of that particular driver. Then, after thebaseline period ends, the DDU is made to function normally, givingvarious types of collision warning alerts to the driver as governed bythe logic within the collision warning and/or adaptive cruise controlsystem. In the case of the Eaton VORAD systems, for example some EVT-300systems which were installed at the factory also have the ability tooperate as adaptive cruise control systems, which function istrademarked “SmartCruise” by Eaton VORAD. After the DDU and (in caseswhere it exists) the SmartCruise function are “turned on”, the samedriver's driving habits are captured for some “CWS-active” period. Byanalyzing not only each individual driver's altered driving behavior,but also that of various groups of drivers (long-haul, short-haul,etc.), results are then reported on the usual effects on driver behaviorof having such collision warning/adaptive cruise control systemsinstalled on the types of vehicles driven in the study.

In the present invention, the above can be used to provide the followingmethod to provide information to drivers considering the purchase ofvehicle insurance whose premiums are adjusted based on driving behavior,as determined through analysis of captured data from the vehicle. (Twoissued U.S. patents assigned to Progressive Insurance Company describe amethod which provides such adjustments to the vehicle insurancepremiums.) The present invention can provide a benefit to customers whowish to evaluate the possible advantages of such vehicle insurance whosepremiums are adjusted based on captured vehicle data, which have not yetpurchased particular equipment that would, if on the vehicle, be able toprovide the type of vehicle data on which insurance premium adjustmentscould be based. For example, a truck fleet interested in heavy vehicleinsurance offering discounts for allowing data to be captured from acollision warning system, such as the EVT-300, would have difficulty, ifthe fleet does not yet have such systems installed on its vehicles, dueto the fact that the collision warning system is relatively expensiveand its installation and/or removal requires a number of labor hours andexpense. As a result, there is a “chicken and egg” problem—if the fleethad collision warning systems installed on its trucks, then the presentinvention allows estimates to be provided to the fleet owners of likelyinsurance premiums, based on the captured data from the vehicles.However, because insurance companies have not yet started offering suchinsurance that adjusts premiums based on captured data, it is usuallythe case that only self-insured truck fleets have purchased collisionwarning systems, since they benefit directly and immediately from theimproved safety, lower accident rates, and resulting lower costs. Otherfleets which are not self insured (the vast majority of North Americantruck fleets are not), however, have seldom purchased the collisionwarning system, at least in part due to the fact that no insurancepremium discounts are offered until their accident experience improves,and then it is uncertain when and how much the discount will be. As aresult of this uncertainty and delay of any financial return, there islittle incentive to purchase such collision warning systems. So theresult is that the truck fleets that would benefit from insurance basedon a model such as set forth in the Progressive patents do not alreadyhave collision warning systems installed, and the fleets that have theminstalled are mostly self-insured fleets, which are already benefitingfrom the lower accident rates and will see no further financial benefitfrom the Progressive-type insurance (since they are self-insured).

To address this “chicken and egg” issue, the present invention providesa method to alleviate this problem. For convenience, a Class 8 heavytruck is used in the following embodiment as an example, and componentsof an Eaton VORAD EVT-300 Collision Warning System are also used. Anytype vehicle and any type collision warning or adaptive cruise controlsystem utilizing forward-looking sensors with radar, laser, or othertechnologies are contemplated as alternative embodiments.

For a Class 8 heavy truck with no collision warning system yetinstalled, but whose owners wish to evaluate potential advantages ofProgressive-type vehicle insurance (per their U.S.-patented inventions)with the present invention as previously described, the following stepsare taken:

-   -   1) Offer the following evaluation program to the owner of a        Class 8 truck which has no collision warning systems currently        installed, on a free or low-cost basis during the evaluation        period.    -   2) Attach an EVT-300 “smart sensor” Antenna Assembly as        instructed by the Eaton VORAD EVT-300 installation instructions,        to the front of the truck.    -   3) Do not install the EVT-300 Central Processing Unit or any        other components of the EVT-300 system.    -   4) Mount the device according to the present invention in the        truck as described to provide services to the truck owner.    -   5) Attach a cable between the device mounted in step 4 and the        smart sensor, such cable having been designed to fit the        connectors on the EVT-300 smart sensor and the connector        designed into the in-vehicle device for that purpose.        Instructions for modifying a standard cable and standard        connectors to function properly with the smart sensor are given        in the EVT-300 VORAD Serial bus (VBUS) Specification, Abridged,        dated Jan. 9, 1999.    -   6) Have driver operate the vehicle with the in-vehicle device        operating, which will in turn power the EVT-300 smart sensor and        cause it to operate normally, as if it were communicating with        the EVT-300 Central Processing Unit. Software commands to        accomplish such operations are given in the EVT-300 VORAD Serial        bus (VBUS) Specification, Abridged, dated Jan. 9, 1999.    -   7) Data are captured and communicated to the central location as        described in the present invention.    -   8) However, since the captured data describe the driver's normal        driving habits rather than his/her driving habits with the        benefit of collision warning alerts and/or adaptive cruise        control operation (as would be the case in the invention        described previously, the results provided to the truck owner        for each insurance company's “Progressive-style” insurance        basing discounts on captured driving information are the        following:        -   Monthly insurance premium adjustment based on driving as            described by captured data, without benefit of collision            warning system alerts or adaptive cruise control operation        -   Based on results of industry analyses from studies such as            those described above, for changes in driver behavior from            “baseline” with no collision warning alerts, to “CWS-active”            experience with full EVT-300 collision warning system            installed and DDU activated, an estimate is provided of the            changes that would likely be experienced in driver behavior            with such full system installed, as well as an estimate of            the insurance premium adjustment that would apply to such            changed driving behavior        -   Similarly, based on similar industry analyses for changes in            driving behavior between “baseline” and            “SmartCruise-onboard-and-available” driving periods, an            estimate is provided of the changes that would likely be            experienced in driver behavior from the “baseline” period to            driving with both collision warning activated and            SmartCruise active and available whenever the driver chooses            cruise control, as well as an estimate of the insurance            premium adjustment that would apply to such changed driving            behavior.    -   9) Then the truck owner has three choices:        -   1) Decline all insurance alternatives identified, and have            the evaluation system components removed from the truck and            returned to its owner, in which case there is no charge if a            free evaluation was provided, or there is whatever small            charge that was agreed upon before the evaluation period, if            that was the arrangement.        -   2) Choose one of the insurance alternatives which does not            include having a full EVT-300 collision warning system            installed, and leave the hardware already installed on the            truck for the evaluation in place. It will then perform to            capture driving information about the vehicle, as described            in the embodiments of the present invention, but the driver            will not receive any collision warning alerts or any            adaptive cruise control operation.        -   3) Choose one of the insurance alternatives which does            include having a full EVT-300 collision warning system            installed, leave the hardware already installed on the            vehicle, but purchase and have installed the additional            components desired for the EVT-300 collision warning system            (most likely from the normal distribution channels for the            EVT-300 systems, unless other arrangements are made between            Eaton VORAD and the provider of the service described            herein). The in-vehicle device will then capture and provide            vehicle data according to the embodiments of the present            invention as previously described.

It is believed that this approach can solve the “chicken and egg”situation described above, which would otherwise be expected to inhibitthe consideration of the types of insurance described in ProgressiveInsurance's U.S. patents, as well as inhibit the effective use of thepresent invention as previously described. This is largely due to thefact that, as opposed to the complete EVT-300 and other similar systems,the retrofit installation of the forward-looking “smart sensor” issignificantly less expensive and labor intensive than installing thecomplete EVT-300 system, making it more cost-feasible to offer thealternatives described above. In addition, the insight that theProgressive-type insurance could offer advantages even to truck fleetsthat do not wish to have actual collision warning alerts and/or adaptivecruise control provided to their drivers, with only the “smart sensor”installed. Finally, since the normal distribution channel for EVT-300systems is through the heavy vehicle OEM dealers, then smart sensorswould be available for purchase from them; however, since the installedequipment is not providing collision warning functionality, it may bepossible that direct purchases of the smart sensors from Eaton VORADwould be permitted under their distribution agreements with the heavytruck OEM companies (who may have exclusive rights to sell completeEVT-300 systems, but may not have exclusive rights to sell individualcomponents that are not being used to replace components in a fullcollision warning system, or even to build up full collision warningsystems for sale).

In further aspects of the invention, there are also provided systems tofacilitate safe operation of a vehicle. In this regard, the followingconcepts are provided.

-   -   1) Driver Interface for Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS)        -   1) The concept is to use a touch-screen display, with the            provision that the driver acknowledge having received an            alert by touching the screen. The screen will be positioned            very close to the driver's normal line-of-sight while            driving, both so that visual alerts can be easily and            quickly seen with minimal driver distraction, and so that            the act of reaching and touching the display likewise            requires minimal effort and potential distraction. A            combination of audible and visual display options are            planned, with the common response required by the driver of            reaching and touching the display to acknowledge receipt of            the alert.        -   2) One preferred embodiment would have the alert continue            while the situation generating the alert is present, even if            the driver acknowledges it by touching the screen, but would            alter the alert in some way after such acknowledgement. For            example, identification of a stationary object believed to            be in the vehicle's path and earlier than a collision            warning system will generate its own alert, a tone and a            flashing icon showing the rear view of a car in red would be            generated. If the driver does not acknowledge the alert, it            proceeds to another level of alert, and so forth, until such            time as the alert is no longer appropriate (either the            situation has passed or an associated collision warning            system begins giving its own alert). However, with the            driver's acknowledgement by touching the screen, the alert            changes to a non-flashing icon with no associated audible            alert.        -   3) This is especially appropriate for “situation awareness”            alerts that may not necessarily involve danger, but at least            indicate unusual situations ahead about which the driver            should be aware. Information regarding a system for            providing “situation awareness” and other aspects is set            forth in the applicants co-pending U.S. patent application            Ser. No. 09/633,127 and pending provisional Ser. No.            60/337,827, which is hereby incorporated by reference. If            there is danger, then the drive can immediately start taking            action by steering, brake, and/or accelerator actions. Upon            detection of any of these actions, the system will also            modify its alert strategy, with a preferred embodiment being            similar to that from the driver acknowledging receipt by            touching the display, i.e. that audible alerts will be            suppressed and any visual icons will be non-flashing. In all            cases, an indication that the driver is aware of the            situation is used to remove potential distractions like            audible alerts and flashing displays, to minimize potential            distractions to the driver when immediate attention may be            needed to take action due to the detected situation. At the            same time, lacking an indication that the alert has been            noticed, the system can proceed with an alert strategy            intended to help assure that the driver is aware of the            alert, even if no action is taken about it.        -   4) In the case of alerts that do not involve actual danger,            this approach of “silencing” the alert with a simple touch            of the display should minimize any potential “false alarm”            issues that the driver might otherwise develop. This is            based on the idea that the simple act of touching a display            within easy view and reach is preferable to hearing and            seeing alerts for a greater period of time that are apply            only to “nice to know” situations, rather than dangerous            ones. An example is that of a vehicle that is parked in an            adjacent emergency lane ahead, but which does not pose a            potential collision threat unless someone at the vehicle            steps into the active lanes.

Regarding 1) Driver Interface for Advanced Driver Assistance System(ADAS), a slightly different implementation is to substitute a touch padfor driver acknowledgements that is separate from the display, with thefunctionality the same as earlier described. This would permit easierdriver interaction in the case that the optimal position for the displayto be mounted is not convenient for the driver to reach, such asrequiring the driver to lean forward. The touch pad would be mountedcloser to the driver, perhaps on the dash very near the steering wheelbut somewhat off to the side, where it can be easily reached by amomentary action of removing one hand from the steering wheel andtapping the touch pad on the upper surface of the dash nearby, and thenresuming the normal driving position of the hand back on the steeringwheel.

2) Implementation of Stop-and-Go Adaptive Cruise Control Using RoadGeometry Database

The concept of stop-and-go ACC is well understood in the IntelligentTransportation Systems industry, including the use of road geometrydatabases combined with accurate vehicle positioning. However, thefollowing implementation provides enhancements to this.

The vehicle would need the following: a) an adaptive cruise controlsystem, with the forward-looking sensor most likely utilizing radar(although a laser or other sensors may be used); b) a vehiclepositioning capability, in which higher degrees of accuracy will providebetter performance; and c) a road-geometry database containing so-called“extended data” (the phrase used in the European IN-ARTE program, inwhich Navigation Technologies was a participant).

There are several levels of operation contemplated, comprising a)non-ACC warning only; b) stop-and-go ACC′; and c) enhanced stop-and-goACC. They are as follows. In ALL cases, the driver is charged with theultimate responsibility for maintaining safe operation of the vehicle,and can override any active system with accelerator and/or brakeactivation.

a) Non-ACC Warning Only

While driving, the vehicle operator is given “in-vehicle signing” typesof alerts about: current and up-coming road attributes such as speedlimits, stop signs, intersections (especially if real-time informationis available to identify the status of signalized intersections when thevehicle will likely arrive there) and exceptions to those conditionssuch as exceeding speed limit, speed too fast for present or upcomingroad conditions (curves, fog, icy patches, slower speed limit ahead,planned exist ahead, etc.). (NOTE: In addition to early alerts due todetected stationary objects and/or slow-moving vehicles, I also plan tooffer these types of alerts to the driver with the ROADRisk(™) EarlyAlert System, as we recently discussed.)

b) Stop-and-Go ACC

This implementation goes beyond “standard” ACC that responds only tomoving vehicles to maintain appropriate following distances, whilecutting out at low speeds (generally when conventional cruise controlwould), and utilizing very limited deceleration capabilities of thevehicle. Stop-and-Go ACC, on the other hand, takes into accountstationary objects in the vehicle's path as well as moving vehicles, andcontinues to operate all the way down to a complete stop. Then, whentraffic ahead permits, it starts the vehicle moving again, but keeps itpositioned away from the closest object ahead. It may not have fulldeceleration capability, however, and instead might alert the driver ifsuch a situation presents itself (perhaps in addition to exerting themaximum deceleration authority that it has). (Note: A system with fullemergency-braking authority is classified as a collision avoidancesystem.)

c) Enhanced Stop-and-Go ACC

This system performs like Stop-and-Go ACC, but with the followingenhancements. The basic concept is that it takes into account thevehicle's position and the enhanced-data road geometry database to beaware of the current speed limit, upcoming speed limit, upcoming curves,upcoming intersections, and upcoming stop signs (as well as otherdynamic attributes, if available, such as visual conditions like rain orfog, road conditions like ice, etc.).

With that knowledge, the vehicle's ACC set speed is adjusted and/orbraking is utilized (if adjustments to the ACC set speed would notsuffice) in order to: 1) slow the vehicle and bring it to a completestop at a stop sign; 2) slow the vehicle temporarily as appropriate whenapproaching curves, planned highway exits, etc.; 3) slow the vehicleappropriately while under non-ideal driving conditions such as heavyrain, fog, snow, icy road surface, etc.; 4) alert the driver whenapproaching a signalized intersection and decrease speed somewhat, untilthe intersection is passed; and 5) begin slowing and come to a stop at asignalized intersection where a known route plan shows that a turn isplanned (and activate in advance the appropriate turn signal, ifpossible).

Since the driver is always able to overrule the ACC system (whether ACC,Stop-and-Go ACC, or Enhanced Stop-and-Go ACC), the driver's involvementin the above situations is: 1) starting off again from a stop sign; 2)allowing the system to slow the vehicle in these situations, or simplyoverriding by using the accelerator (which may be appropriate for lanechanges, change in plans where to exit, etc.); 3) allowing the system toslow the vehicle in these situations, or simply overriding by using theaccelerator (which may be appropriate for passing purposes, mistakenroad condition reports, etc.); 4) look ahead to the intersection andbegin braking if needed to turn or stop due to the signal turning yellowor red; and 5) look ahead to the intersection and take command of thevehicle with accelerator or brake pedal activation, either of whichturns control over to the driver until the intersection is passed, orelse simply allow the vehicle to come to a stop (with the turn signalactivated automatically, if possible) before taking responsibility foraccelerating and turning when appropriate.

All of these concepts can be incorporated into the system, which may bereferred to product, the ROADRisk(™) Early Alert System, designed forheavy vehicles and targeted to those with Eaton VORAD Collision WarningSystems, with optional ADAS-type functionality using road geometry datafiles with extended data describing speed limits, stop sign and trafficsignal locations, etc., and which will optionally use real-time updatesabout roadway conditions available through wireless connections to thevehicle.

Regarding 2) Implementation of Stop-and-Go Adaptive Cruise Control UsingRoad Geometry Database, another implementation of c) EnhancedStop-and-Go ACC with respect to signalized intersections is to have thevehicle not only slow, but also come gradually to a stop just short ofthe intersection if the driver does not take actions to assumeresponsibility for driving through the intersection. Just as describedpreviously, by using the accelerator and/or the brake, the driver takescontrol of the vehicle and stops as he/she wishes, drives through theintersection at whatever speed the driver feels appropriate, or turns atthe intersection. Once past the intersection, the system will resume itsoperation unless the driver continues to utilize the accelerator and/orbrake to override the system. This implementation is less convenient tothe driver, but has the added fail-safe protection that if the drivertakes no action, the vehicle will not risk driving through thesignalized intersection when the signal status would recommend otherwise(red and in some cases yellow).

In an alternative embodiment, the systems and methods of the inventionmay be used in differing applications or environments. As merely anotherexample of this, as with the vehicle monitoring environment describedabove, the invention may be applicable to monitor home or buildingsystems and operation. In such an application, for example to monitorpower usage in a facility, a communications unit can be installed tomonitor at least one data element relating to power usage, for exampleuse of electricity or natural gas at the facility. Information relatingto the at least one data element can then be communicated to anelectronic marketplace, and based upon the at least one data element,correlation can be made to at least one product or service, and the costthereof, which may be of interest to the user. Information relating tothe product or service can then be communicated to the user and/or theat least one supplier for similar purposes of tailoring a good orservice to a user and the particular environment. In the example ofmonitoring power usage, the information relating to total usage, timesof usage, types of uses, or other information relating to a particularusers circumstances and environment can be monitored and correlated toproducts or services which may be of interest. As power companies inmany locations are being deregulated, alternative vendors or suppliersof alternative energy sources may be interested in offering discountsbased upon a particular customers usage patterns and needs, similar tothe vehicle monitoring embodiment described above. All the same aspectsof the invention as decried herein may be useful for this or other usersor environments. For example, similar to power usage, such systems andmethods may be used to monitor other systems, such as heating-A/Csystems, security systems or any other application where information iscaptured and communicated according to the invention.

In another example of the invention used in differing applications orenvironments, as with the vehicle monitoring environment describedabove, the invention may be applicable to monitor individual userenvironments where information is captured and communicated according tothe invention, such as by using a mobile device. In one embodiment, themobile device performs the functions in FIG. 1 of communication system14 and transmitter 16, and is carried to vehicle 10 by the vehicledriver or a passenger. In this case, the user environment issubstantially identical to that described for the vehicle monitoringenvironment described above, and the information generated in vehicle 10by data generating system 12 is communicated to a central facility, suchas an electronic marketplace, for instance web site 20. In a oneembodiment of the invention, the mobile device is a cellular telephonewith transmitter 16 communicating with a central facility 20 over awireless cellular data communications link. In another embodiment of theinvention, the mobile device may also have a Bluetooth short-rangewireless transmitter/receiver for receiving information from datagenerating system 12 through a communications signal provided by aBluetooth short-range wireless transmitter/receiver installed in vehicle10.

In another example of the invention, the use of a mobile device isapplicable to monitoring individual user environments. In thisembodiment, the mobile device operates separately from vehicle 10 shownin FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the mobile device itself may contain datagenerating system 12 or receives information from data generating system12 which is not installed in a vehicle.

In yet another embodiment of this example of the invention, referring toFIG. 1, the mobile device operating separately from vehicle 10 is acellular telephone and may contain communication system 14 andtransmitter 16, and data generating system 12 is a system providinglocation information of the cellular telephone. This system can, forexample, be a GPS receiver installed in the cellular telephone, a GPSreceiver located nearby and transmitting location information to thecellular telephone, or a system utilizing the cellular telephone networkto determine the cellular telephone's location and transmitting thatlocation data via cellular communications to the cellular telephone.With that location data transmitted to the electronic marketplace atcentral facility 20, products and services from suppliers 24 can beidentified which are convenient to the user based on the user'slocation, along with normal prices and discounts that may be availablefor a limited time within which the user can likely take advantage ofthem. In this embodiment of the invention, the cellular telephone mayprovide a substitute for user terminal 26 shown in FIG. 1, and the userreceives information communicated to the cellular telephone from theelectronic marketplace 20 on the identified products, services, andtheir pricing. Depending on user preference, this can be done by usersign-in to the electronic marketplace web site 20, by text messageautomatically sent by the electronic marketplace 20 to the user cellphone, or by an automated telephone call placed by the electronicmarketplace 20 to the user cell phone. To avoid unwanted communications,the user may be given the ability via the web site shown in FIG. 4 toregister preferences for days of week, times of day and types ofproducts and services for which communications are desired, along withchoice of text message or telephone call if automatic notifications aredesired.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, a telematic system having adisplay unit is applicable to monitoring individual user environments.In one embodiment, the telematic system provides compatibility andinteroperability with personal identifiers, such as retinal scanningdevices and fingerprint scanning devices, and hand-held remote entrydevices such as a key fob. In this embodiment, the telematic systemoperates separately from vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment,the telematic system itself may contain data generating system 12 orreceives information from data generating system 12 which is notinstalled in a vehicle.

In another embodiment of the invention, when users register at theelectronic marketplace 20 as shown in FIG. 4, they may also be given theability to create affinity groups of users, or join existing affinitygroups created by other users. Each may have its affinity group name,for example “Friends_of_Bob”, assigned by the affinity group creator,along with a password which may be required by other users in order tojoin that affinity group. In this way, users can create various affinitygroups and invite friends and associates to join them by providing thosefriends and associates with those affinity groups' names and passwords.After registering as users of the electronic marketplace 20 via accessto the web site shown in FIG. 4, they can then join those affinitygroups by selecting them and providing the correct passwords. Thepurpose of the affinity groups is to help users easily identify productsand services which match not only their own preferences for days ofweek, times of day and types of products and services, but also matchthose of other members of affinity groups to which they belong. Afterreviewing the selection of products and services that are provided tothem from the electronic marketplace along with the affinity groups towhich they belong and the number of members for which the preferencesalso match for each product or service, each user can indicate purchaseintentions for those goods and services on the selected list. In thecase of location-based, time-sensitive products and services, such aschoice of a restaurant for a meal, users also indicate preferred timeand day when they give purchase intentions. In that way, as the time forthe occasion approaches, a user can make a final decision based on thelikelihood of meeting friends and associates at a particular restaurantbased on the number of members of the various affinity groups to whichthe user belongs who are indicating their intentions to arrive at therestaurant at acceptable times. The opportunity to purchase or makereservations may also be made available, in which case previous totalnumbers of purchases or reservations for each product or service on thelist for each identified affinity group may also be shown, furtherhelping a user identify products and services which have been popularwith members of affinity groups of which the user is a member. Inaddition, any users making purchase or reservations through theelectronic marketplace may be given the opportunity to later providesatisfaction ratings and/or commentary that can be automaticallyprovided for review, further assisting users in choosing products andservices which have been purchased and liked or disliked, by members ofvarious affinity groups. Although restaurant selection is given forillustration, this example is not intended to limit the scope of theinvention in any way. It is contemplated that this feature of thepresent invention could apply to any products or services. It is alsocontemplated that this feature of the present invention can also beaccessed on web site 20 via a home computer or other non-mobile userterminal 26 as shown in FIG. 1, and that the location of the homecomputer or other non-mobile user terminal 26 can be utilized asdescribed above, whether automatically determined by GPS receiver, byon-line approaches utilizing assigned Internet Protocol address, or byany other means. It is also contemplated that the user can plan futureevents for some expected location using any device to access web site20, either mobile or non-mobile, by selecting a point on a map displayedon map, by entering the names of a city or town, state or region, andcountry, or by entering approximate geographic coordinates such aslatitude and longitude.

In another embodiment of the invention, the use of a mobile device isapplicable to monitor individual user environments. In this embodiment,with the mobile device capable of operating entirely separately fromvehicle 10 shown in FIG. 1 and containing data generating system 12, thedata generating system may provide location data of the mobile device,possibly along with other data. This may be provided by a GPS receiverbuilt into the mobile device, by a GPS receiver located nearby andcommunicating its location data to the mobile device, or else by othermeans deploying a communications network utilized by the mobile deviceand communicating the estimated mobile device location to it over thatcommunications network. In this configuration, personal safety andsecurity services can be provided to the user based on location datacommunicated from the mobile device to the central facility 20 as shownin FIG. 1. Various safety and security guidelines based on location,time, and other factors can be stored at the central facility 20 andused to determine the likely safety/security status of the user. In theevent that any guideline is violated, then a communication from centralfacility 20 to a designated party is automatically initiated. Suchresponsible party could for example be the user, a family member of theuser, a security monitoring firm, or appropriate law enforcementauthorities.

In still another embodiment of the invention, the mobile device is acellular telephone that may include Bluetooth short-range wirelesscommunications and an operating system such as Microsoft Mobile, Symbianor Linux. The data generating system 12 may be a Bluetooth GPS receiver,and the operating instructions to carry out the methods of the inventionrequired by the cell phone are contained in a software applicationprogram loaded into the cellular telephone. The safety/securityguidelines may be established by or for the user at the central facility20 through choices offered via an entry form and selected by the user oruser's responsible party after registering and logging on to the centralfacility web site as shown in FIG. 4. The entry form will resemble theone shown in FIG. 5, with the difference being that choices related tothe user's safety and security will be offered, rather than data foridentifying optimum automotive insurance policies as shown in FIG. 5.Examples of such choices are maximum time lapse since any lastcommunication, maximum time lapse since last communication containinglocation data, permitted location boundaries according to time of dayand day of week, maximum travel speed or a variety of other choices andor criteria. The software running on the cellular telephone may attemptto communicate its position, along with possible additional data, viathe telephone's cellular data communications to the central facility 20on a known periodic basis, where it will be analyzed according to thepersonal safety and security guidelines established for that user, suchas those mentioned above. Along with each guideline, the appropriatecontact party or series of contact parties may be identified, along withthe preferred means of contact, such as e-mail, text message, automatedtelephone call, etc. As long as none of the guidelines are violated,then no contacts are made. However, whenever at least one guideline isviolated, including the failure to receive a communication within theselected maximum period of time, then the indicated contact or series ofcontacts are automatically made. As another aspect of the invention, analert may be generated by the software running in the user's cellulartelephone whenever it can be determined that a selected safety orsecurity guideline is nearing the point of being violated, so that ifthe user is safe and secure, then action can be initiated on thecellular telephone in advance of the time that the guideline violationwould otherwise occur and one or more contacts would have beenautomatically initiated by the central facility 20 as instructedpreviously by the user or a responsible party. This invention could bedeployed in many examples, some of which are by parents for childrenhaving cellular telephones, by family members for elderly relativesliving by themselves, by young adults at college or living by themselveswho want their remote families or proper local contacts to learn quicklyif some type of personal safety or security issue may occur, or byemployees whose companies do not want to constantly monitor theemployees but who do want to be alerted quickly whenever any potentialpersonal safety or security issues may exist or when appropriate companyguidelines are being violated.

The following description of a Driver-Friendly Vehicle System is offeredas an example of the invention exhibiting many of the embodimentsdescribed above.

-   -   1. A vehicle has ability to communicate to the Internet, either        via onboard wireless or through later connection via Bluetooth        to a mobile device or via WiFi/WiMax when within range    -   2. Vehicle owner uses central-facility web site via PC or mobile        device to establish allowed boundaries for the vehicle for given        day-of-week and time-of-day choices        -   a. Center point chosen by address or by map and radius        -   b. Boxed-in area chosen by clicking on map on screen        -   c. Maximum speed (or if available, excess speed over posted            speed limits)    -   3. The parameters in #2 are set for any number of parties who        would be in the vehicle, with “Unknown” being required, and some        other potential choices shown        -   a. Insurance Company monitored/usage based insurance profile        -   b. Unknown (likely assigned by owner with tightest            boundaries)        -   c. Family Teenage Driver #1        -   d. Family Teenage Driver #2        -   e. Spouse        -   f. Self    -   4. A telematics system in vehicle utilizes the “Unknown” profile        unless it can be determined that one or more owner-authorized        parties are present in vehicle. (This may be done many ways, but        the most convenient is likely via software downloaded on the        authorized parties' cell phones which can communicate with the        vehicle telematics system, in one example via short-range        wireless such as Bluetooth, and transmit encrypted information        identifying the presence of those authorized parties' cell        phones.) If multiple authorized parties are present, then all        are noted and the least restrictive of those profiles are used        by the system. To maintain any profile other than “Unknown”, a        reconnection is required to confirm continued presence at        regular intervals whenever the vehicle is moving.    -   5. Using the selected profile, the telematics system will        provide in-car warning in time to prevent a violation of the        currently-active profile's space/time boundaries with reasonable        driving habits. Likewise, any mobile device with software that        supplied an authorized party's profile to the vehicle will also        generate a similar alert (in case the party is away from the        vehicle but still nearby).    -   6. If in spite of the warning, the space/time profile currently        active is violated, then a communication is sent to the        designated party with details of the vehicle's location and ID        of the profile currently active. This communication can be        chosen by the vehicle owner or other designated party to be an        e-mail, a text message, a phone call, an entry on a web page        which to which the owner or other designated party has User        ID/Password privilege, or some combination.    -   7. The designated party can also choose to have the information        automatically sent to one or more third parties in any of        several scenarios. This could be a spouse if the authorized        party IDs in the vehicle did not include the spouse, or a        security firm if neither the owner nor spouse responds in a        particular time. Example scenarios are        -   a. No acknowledged receipt by him/her of the message within            a chosen time        -   b. Vehicle location exceeding some maximum boundaries        -   c. Both a) and b)    -   If the Insurance Company Monitored/Usage Based Insurance profile        is present, it is because the vehicle owner is either evaluating        such insurance or already has the vehicle insured using such        insurance. In that case, alerts such as identified above will be        generated in the vehicle to help the driver avoid crossing        thresholds in an insurance company system that will raise        insurance premiums (or lose potential discounts) as well as        notify via the mobile device when such thresholds regarding        location versus time-of-day are about to be exceeded and result        in lost insurance premium discounts (or premium increases).

Although the present invention is described above in detail, the same isby way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken as alimitation on the present invention.

1. A method of offering products or services to a user comprising thesteps of: providing a supplier database in an electronic marketplace,said supplier database comprising at least one supplier; monitoring atleast one data element relating to a user or environment; selectivelytransmitting said at least one data element to an electronicmarketplace; correlating said at least one data element to at least onesupplier found in said supplier database; calculating at least a cost ofat least one related product or service using said at least one dataelement and generating information related to said product or service,and communicating said information to said user or said at least onesupplier, wherein said communicating said information to said userdeploys wireless communications to a mobile communications device. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of the at least onesupplier offering said at least one product or service at said cost tosaid user through said electronic marketplace.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein said at least one data element is selected from the groupconsisting of GPS location data and cellular location data.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said step of calculating is performed by asystem within said electronic marketplace.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein said step of calculating is performed by said at least onesupplier, with said at least one data element communicated to said atleast one supplier.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising thestep of recording said at least one data element in a computer readablestorage medium to create a database of said data elements.
 7. The methodof claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting said at least one dataelement is selectively implemented by the user.
 8. The method of claim1, further comprising the step of transmitting selected portions of saiddata and selected portions of said information to said at least onesupplier.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmittingcomprises transmitting all data to said electronic marketplace and saidstep of communicating relates to only selected portions of saidinformation.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step oftransmitting all portions of said data to said electronic marketplacefor creating an aggregated database.
 11. The method of claim 10, whereinthe step of transmitting all portions of said data is performedanonymously.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of offeringsaid at least one related product or service at said calculated cost tosaid user is performed anonymously.
 13. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of transmitting said at least one data element is performedanonymously.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one relatedproduct or service is selected from the group consisting of vehicleinsurance, life insurance, disability insurance or combinations thereof.15. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating utilizesanalysis of said at least one data element under guidelines provided bysaid at least one supplier.
 16. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of communicating information relating to said atleast one data element to said user.
 17. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising the step of providing a communications system in a vehicle,wherein said step of communicating uses said communications system. 18.The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of providing acommunications system in a vehicle, wherein said step of communicatinginformation relating to said at least one data element uses saidcommunications system.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step ofcommunicating includes warning said user of unsafe operation of saidvehicle.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein said at least one dataelement includes vehicle location information, and said step ofcommunicating comprises communicating information on a product orservice based upon the location of said vehicle.
 21. The method of claim19, wherein said warning said user of unsafe operation of said vehicleis based on approaching limits of operation under which a discount to anautomobile insurance premium could be lost if a policy from an insurancecompany offering such discount were in effect, or if a surcharge couldbe added to an automobile insurance premium if a policy from aninsurance company requiring such surcharge were in effect.
 22. Themethod of claim 19, wherein said warning said user of unsafe operationof said vehicle is based on approaching limits of operation underguidelines established by owner of said vehicle.
 23. The method of claim16, further comprising the step of providing a communications system ina portable device, wherein said step of communicating informationrelating to said at least one data element uses said communicationssystem.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of communicatingincludes warning said user of unsafe operation of a vehicle associatedwith said user.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein said warning saiduser of unsafe operation of said vehicle is based on approaching limitsof operation under which a discount to an automobile insurance premiumcould be lost if a policy from an insurance company offering suchdiscount were in effect, or if a surcharge could be added to anautomobile insurance premium if a policy from an insurance companyrequiring such surcharge were in effect.
 26. The method of claim 24,wherein said warning said user of unsafe operation of said vehicle isbased on approaching limits of operation under guidelines provided byemployer of said user.
 27. The method of claim 24, wherein said warningsaid user of unsafe operation of said vehicle is based on approachinglimits of operation under guidelines provided by parent of said user orby other member of said user's family.
 28. The method of claim 23,wherein the step of communicating includes warning said user ofpotentially unsafe personal conditions.
 29. The method of claim 28,wherein said warning said user of potentially unsafe personal conditionsis based on approaching limits of guidelines provided by employer ofsaid user.
 30. The method of claim 28, wherein said warning said user ofpotentially unsafe personal conditions is based on approaching limits ofguidelines provided by parent of said user or by other member of saiduser's family.